Almost a quarter of the way into the new season, fans have had several opportunities to come out to Guv Fuller Field and watch the new wave of players, fresh crop of interns, and even an entirely new regime of a coaching staff. Now, while there haven't been many opportunities for you, the fans, to get a chance to shake hands with the new Commodore coaches, that will soon change. On July 10th, at Saint Barnabas’s Church, the Falmouth Commodores will put on a Meet the Commodores Coaches event to give the community a chance to familiarize themselves with the new faces in the dugout. So, what better time than to start our series of coach profiles? Today, we meet Beau McMillan, former draft pick turned national championship winning coach.
All around the country, you’ll find baseball guys who consider themselves ‘lifers.’ These are the men who were born to eat, sleep, and breathe the sport. If you ordered a baseball lifer on Amazon, and assistant head coach Beau McMillan isn't on your front porch, you’ll want to get your money back. The Florida native played his collegiate ball at Division II Lynn University, where he was a two-time first team All-Conference player enroute to holding several school records, including total bases, runs scored, and stolen bases.
After his college career, McMillan was one of the select few young men to have their dreams realized of being drafted by an MLB team, the Florida Marlins in 2004 to be exact. After a brief stint in the minors, it was time for McMillan to begin the rest of his life. His first stop post-baseball involved cold-calls in sales for four years, a job in which he knew he couldn’t do forever. So, he made his way back to the sport he called home, taking a coaching position at his alma mater. By 2009, his team had climbed the mountaintop, capturing the D-II national championship.
After a couple more seasons in Boca Raton, Florida, he took his coaching talents to Palm Beach Academy, his last stop before Falmouth. After my conversation with Saltalamacchia’s top assistant, it was clear that any player that comes through Falmouth will not only have a great coach, but one of the most compassionate hearts in the game today. I tried several times to ask what he looked to gain professionally, yet all he could talk about was striving to be the kind of coach that builds relationships and puts his players in the best position possible to succeed.
Outside of the dugout, McMillan spends as much of his downtime with the coaches off the field as he does on it. His wife and two children are still in Florida, and while family is Beau’s everything, he and the coaching staff have developed a very tight relationship over the past several weeks. You can find them on off days bouncing around local restaurants, or often playing golf, as McMillan has done for the last 20 years, although he still fights the slice from time to time.
Near the end of our discussion, I asked him what he was looking to walk away from the Cape League with, whenever that time came. I can only imagine that whatever opinion you’ve formed so far, will coincide with his answer quite well. He looks forward to the memories he’ll make on the Cape. He wants his players to be able to say that “Beau gave me his time and effort,” saying, “They only care how much you know when they know how much you care.”
It isn’t hard to find coaches in which winning is everything to them, but it’s rare to find coaches in which while winning means everything, it still isn’t the only thing. Coach Beau McMillan is one of those select few. When asked about the one piece of advice he’d give to not only baseball hopefuls, but those in any field, he kept it simple: “Study, study, study. Write everything down and be a student of your own game.”
Although he’s deep into his journey, Beau McMillan is just getting started, and if you, your son, or brother ever gets a chance to play for him? I strongly advise you do it.
